A Girl and Her Captain
by Aldurnamiyanrandvora
Summary: During the days where humanity's struggle reaches its apex, a weary old soldier trains the one who will follow in his footsteps. As he begins his teachings, she lets her mind wonder to those who she has lost, those she fights to protect, and the woman she has become.


Hi there. This is a short little piece I put together whilst wondering how Levi came to trust Mikasa so casually, as there is more to trust than the simple skill Mikasa has. That lead me to think of how they trained, and what lead me to this. It's done intentionally in Purple Prose for those of you familiar with TV Tropes, coupled with most of Levi's words till the end italicised to give it a dream-like feel. This is my first story, so I hope you like it.

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_"__The most important thing in life to embrace is death."_

She knew these words all too well. She _understood _these words all too well. For not only has she faced death in the face, but she had been the one to bring it onto another. It was the most important moment of her life.

She followed the man she called Captain through the forest, wearily watching the trees despite the logical side of her mind reassuring herself that there could be no one. She supposed she had more reason to be paranoid of late.

The Captain walked with the same quiet rustle of leaves as she did, his own dark green cloak hiding his form against the dark eerie foliage. She glanced up at the sky again, noting the sun's position had not changed from the last moment she had checked, hanging in the sky like an eye of incandescent majesty. She used to think that it was the eye of those she had lost watching over her, bringing her peace and comfort. Today however, it was a being of maleficent intrusion, not bothering to hide its own casual destruction of her privacy. It wasn't her fault, she didn't want to be here either.

Despite this, she merely dropped her gaze back down to the shadows amongst the trees that she wearily scrutinised, accepting the two inevitables that will forever keep watch above her head.

_"__The most important thing in life to understand is you will live while others die."_

This brought more conflict than the last statement. Yes, she understood it well enough. She had seen them fall, even unwittingly encouraged it as she once flew towards the enemy in blind despair, not realising her own grief would bring her friends' deaths rather than her own. Yes, she knew she would outlive others. Yet did she accept it?

No wind blew as they carried on their monotonous walk through the maze of ancient trunks, their own battle-worn boots the only current that disturbed the gentle rest of the leaves by their feet. The Captain did not come today to proclaim themselves as Gods however. They were facts, with as much truth as the wind and rain that she had begun to miss so much. She wouldn't be the only one to outlive her friends. And someday, someone will outlive her.

At this, the Captain broke into a run, his sure feet navigating the unsure terrain with dedicated ease as his green cloak trailed lethargically behind him in a breeze that was not there. At the lowest branch, he held his hand up gently, letting its sure structure and his own momentum carry him around its width and onto the first branches of the tree. Then he carried on running.

She matched his pace, her own strong legs and sharp eyes working as one as she leapt between the treacherous roots and stumped that lined the unassuming forest floor, their life cloaked in the dead corpses of foliage that once grew so high above. One day, she would run no more. Till then, she left the forest floor in a powerful leap, catching a branch and running on without second thoughts or regret. She didn't look back. She never had.

_"__The most important thing in life to know is you can't do everything alone."_

She ran through the trees with the Captain, sure feet and quick arms sending them through the network of branches at their nearest intersections, their matrices forming a complex weave of greenery that constantly provided the means for the Captain and his apprentice to move through the dense depths of the forest.

She had never looked at the world from that perspective before. The fact surprised her, as she had always seen the Captain as the man who fought alone without fear or concern over the multitude of skilled soldiers he had at his disposal. Everyone knew it well. The Captain was not a team player, not one to lean his strength on another and expect the same strength in return. He was singular in his power, the lone figure that ceaselessly moved from branch to branch amongst the titanic trunks. He was the Captain, and the Captain worked alone.

Her arm slipped on a branch, but despite the fact she fell, she controlled her descent and landed on another sturdy appendage further down the tree. She paused only a moment before leaping back into motion again, knowing her mentor would not pause long.

Yet all people needed to work together, to share their strength and knowledge to become something greater than any individual could be alone. For above the Captain was the Commander that he trusted so vigilantly, the voice of a man who knew the gambit of life and knowledge as one. The Captain relied on his orders and his decisions. The Squad Leader, a woman whose eccentric ways had a method to the madness. With her, the Squad that she herself was a part of. And the final piece to the chessboard that they were all pieces of - the Impossible Boy. The one who everything revolved around. Without him, none of the success they had made would be possible.

She had never needed anyone to tell her that though. For he was her Impossibility.

She followed the branches and ignored the path that her mentor took, speeding up and following a more intricate and further spaced set of limbs. Soon, she slowed to match her Captain's speed again. This time however, she ran not to follow him, but with him. Yes, the Captain was a man of knowledge and skill. He no doubt had to go through great struggles to gain his own ability, just as much as she had.

The Captain changed the rhythm of his leaps, and she responded instinctually, moving down a single branch that had no adjacent brothers to support her. No, she may not be able to do everything alone, she thought as she reached its end and leapt off. But so long as she had the the Boy that had saved her all those years ago, the true impossibility that no one else saw, then she could do anything. Anything was possible.

Cables fired out from the jacks by hip, slamming their razor sharp ends into thick bark. Mutely she heard the hiss of the Captain's own grapples reaching out to trees of their own. The feeling of gliding like this, of moving through the forest completely uninhibited by the third dimension that all but the birds had no power over. She was flying, one with the sky and its avian inhabitants. She could do the impossible. She was free.

And yet…

_"__The most important thing in life to accept is you can only do your best."_

Freedom fled.

No, she was not free. Not yet.

She moved through the trees, the hiss of her own gear sharply contrasting the previous stealth she had as she ran through the trees. This she accepted however. She was a soldier, after all. This was why she was here.

The Captain turned slightly and veered to an opening in the forest, and she followed him obediently. The clearing was natural, but cultivated. Flowers grew in a small gardens that lined the its boarders, and tools were kept on display on tables. Yet they too showed signs of use and wear, the decorative front no more a mask than her own stoic face.

The Captain landed in its centre, a raised platform of well crafted timber, its shape circular. He removed his gear and cloak in swift movements and turned, waiting. She landed and did likewise.

seek?" The Captain spoke clearly, his cold, almost dead eyes fixed upon her. "Are you willing to give your heart and soul for humanity, as your salute so resolutely swore?"

She was not free yet. No one was. Trapped behind these walls, she and the rest of her species will no doubt rot away, becoming only the next species in a far too long line to become extinct. That's what soldiers were for. That's what she was for.

She snapped her heels together, her left arm moving behind her back, her right fist moving over her left breast, twisted over her heart as if she held a knife to stab at it.

She would find the freedom they craved. She would not give up.

She will give her saviour what he deserved.

"Yes, Captain!"

"Good." He said simply, moving into a combat stance as if he had not known the dedication she had. She knew better however. His dark eyes sparkled mutely with rarely seen praise. "Let's begin then."

She nodded, and met his challenge. Master and protege fighting together as one, each chasing the same goal in their own way. One the practical, logical mind of skill. The other the passionate, strong heart full of love. Each to their own, they fought to make the world a better place.

For the people they lost, and the people they loved.

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Hope you enjoyed that, be sure to leave a review if you could (:


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